


Forever

by leanermina



Series: Winging It [2]
Category: Hockey RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 13:20:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14853528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leanermina/pseuds/leanermina
Summary: The last they had checked, their flight had been delayed for a couple more hours. That had been, by Tommy’s rough estimation, an hour ago, and in the time since then Tomas had tried to drag half of their team off to explore as they hovered in the terminal with their bags. Tommy, being a good best friend, had been the only one to oblige.So far, he had been dragged into just about every single store on their side of the airport, and he couldn’t even bring himself to be mad. Not when Tomas was smiling at him like that.





	Forever

‘Hey. Hey, Tommy. Tommy, look.’

‘Look at what?’

‘Look.’

‘Huh?’

Tommy finally turned his head away from the display he had been staring at and was rewarded with the sight of his favorite Czech teammate sporting goofy sunglasses, hints of canine teeth peeking out above his lips as they stretched in a wide grin. He couldn’t help the smile that sprung to his face.

‘Beautiful.’

‘I know I am’, Tomas responded, and then giggled, his usual, insane, high-pitched giggle.

Tommy watched as he lifted the glasses off his head and settled them back on the display, bending down to scrutinise what else they had in store.

‘What ones you like?’, asked Tomas, without looking up.

‘Me? I’m a big fan of those round ones with the pineapples on the rims. Oh yeah, those are classy.’

But as Tomas held them out to him, it became apparent he hadn’t understood the sarcasm there. Tommy shook his head and took a step back, nearly skidding on a puddle where someone had spilled what he hoped was water on the tile floor. Steadying himself against a magazine rack, he caught a glimpse of the watch on his wrist and his eyebrows shot up.

‘We should check what time the flight’s at now. We’ve been gone a while.’

Tomas pouted a little but allowed himself to be led away from the storefront.

The last they had checked, their flight had been delayed for a couple more hours. That had been, by Tommy’s rough estimation, an hour ago, and in the time since then Tomas had tried to drag half of their team off to explore as they hovered in the terminal with their bags. Tommy, being a good best friend, had been the only one to oblige.

So far, he had been dragged into just about every single store on their side of the airport, and he couldn’t even bring himself to be mad. Not when Tomas was smiling at him like that.

The same smile appeared as Tommy scanned the board above the seating area and said; ‘Well, looks like we’re in luck. It hasn’t been delayed any further.’ He beamed back at his friend. ‘Come on.’

Immediately Tomas grabbed a hold of his hand and began to tug in the opposite direction. Tommy felt a solid blush working its way steadily up his neck. It was the way Tomas was able to do things like this- in a crowded area- so casually, as though he hadn’t even thought about it. Usually it was only when he did little things around the team- draped his arm across the back of Tommy’s chair at team meals, sat so their thighs pressed tight together- that it made him feel like this. He ran his other hand through his already unruly dark hair as he tried to calm his flustered stomach.

‘Come on, we should go back’, he protested, still craning his neck to double-check the departures board.

‘No, wait! One more, Tommy, one more.’ Tomas’ grip on Tommy’s hand had relaxed slightly, yet there remained an insistent press of his hand to the back of Tommy’s knuckles as he clasped them.

Tommy looked at him with an imploring expression but quickly crumbled at the sight of Tomas’ own. His eyes were so huge, his cheeks round- like a hamster, as Tommy occasionally teased him- a faintly hopeful smile on his lips, as though there were any possibility that Tommy wasn’t going to give in to him.

He was aware that their hands were still stretched out between them as Tomas rocked back on his heels, and he moved forward slightly so that they fall back to their sides, hidden between their bodies.

‘Okay. Where’d you wanna go?’

Tomas grinned and led him off without a word.

It took Tommy a second to work out what it was exactly that they were walking into. From outside, the shop was pretty plain and enclosed by walls, unlike many of the other open-plan stores. The name of the place was fairly nondescript, just a surname in a simple font printed over the entrance. Before he could open his mouth to ask, however, his eyes adjusted to the dark and he recognised the glint of glass cases and the jewellery within.

The whole store was buried in a deep silence, unearthed and brought back to reality only by the intermittent footsteps of its two other occupants; an elderly clerk over by the till, and a man in a dark suit hovering by some expensive-looking watches.

Almost immediately Tomas’ warming presence and clammy fingers were replaced by a ghostly chill of air. Tommy watched as his Czech teammate drifted off by himself, moving more quietly over the dark velvety carpets than may have been assumed from a glance at his stature. He peered into every case, soft rounded features widening at each one, eyes and mouth and nostrils and all forming little round ‘o’s of delight.

Tommy elected to hover in the one section by the door, not daring to venture any further in lest the man behind the counter approach him offering help. He always felt a little awkward telling them he was just looking, thank you, and the dusty air did little to entice him to adventure in any further than he already had.

So, he merely lingered, unsure of what, exactly, it was that he was looking for. He hadn’t planned to buy anything on this trip. The dust tickled the back of his throat, yet he felt he couldn’t break the silence with a cough. It was like a small enclave, shielded from the busy rush of airport traffic, and any sudden noise could break that atmosphere. His eyes pricked with tears as he swallowed back his choking breaths.

Eventually, once his wet eyes had cleared slightly, they caught sight of something which drew them in.

Lying right at the end of one of one of the long display cases was a small royal blue pillow, over which was draped a necklace. Just a simple chain for men, nothing overstated, yet hanging from the end of it was a small blue stone.

Pausing in his tracks, he let one hand meet the cold glass of the case, obscuring the already vaguely outlined reflection there. He traced the shape of it on its cushion wonderingly, just a few inches above where it lay.

And just like that, Tomas’s arms were nudging his own, throwing his lines off course.

‘Found something you-’, he began, and then broke off when he saw what Tommy was looking at. ‘Oh, that is so pretty!’

He looked wildly between his teammate and the case, and Tommy’s face prickled with heat.

‘It’s not- pretty’, Tommy whispered back, dropping his hands to his sides. ‘I mean, it is-’

Just then the salesman appeared, and Tommy’s retail nightmares were once more played out in reality.

‘Can I help you with anything today?’

‘Yes!’ Tomas beamed. ‘Can we look at the necklace? That one. That one there.’

‘Of course’, the marble-haired assistant beamed back, disappearing for a moment- during which Tommy shot his friend a despairing look that went unnoticed- before returning with a key and unlocking the case.

Tommy swallowed his protests as the salesman lifted it up and passed it to Tomas. The chain was fairly thick, a dark silver that seemed almost as though it had been deliberately tarnished, the bright sheen of metal faded to a tinny grey, against which the brilliant blue gem stood out, a small crystal of light. Yet in Tomas’ thick fingers, moving to undo the heavy clasp, it seemed much more brittle and breakable. 

He dragged his eyes away from Tomas’ hands up to his face, to catch him with his tongue sticking out, concentrating with the effort of finagling the latch. Tomas met his eyes briefly and smiled, putting his tongue away.

‘Ta da’, he laughed when it was done, then held it up.

Blushing even more fiercely now, Tommy stepped into Tomas’ widespread arms.

The metal was surprisingly cold when it touched his neck and he flinched. The sensation was tempered slightly by the feeling of Tomas’ warm hands pressing awkwardly at the nape of his neck, fingers working to close the circle.

After a moment Tomas stepped back to look at him, and Tommy turned obligingly.

He found himself holding his breath as Tomas gazed down at the necklace for a few seconds, oddly sombre, then he turned his attention back to Tommy’s face.

‘It matches your eyes!’

Tommy smiled and shrugged.

‘Would you like to see more, or…?’, the salesman asked, and he almost leaped out of his own skin. He had forgotten the man was standing there still.

‘No, I buy this now’, said Tomas.

Tommy shook his head, reaching up to undo the clasp himself and swiftly handing the chain back to the store assistant.

‘No, we’re still looking.’

As he steered Tomas away, his friend said; ‘Why you not let me buy? Is nice on you.’

But Tommy just shook his head, even firmer than before. ‘You don’t need to buy me a necklace. It’s nice, but I don’t want to take your money.’

‘I don’t mind.’

‘Really, Tomas’, he emphasised, trying to keep back the flood of embarrassing mixed emotions he felt. He just couldn’t let Tomas buy him the necklace. Every time he looked at it, he wouldn’t be able to think about anything except his friend. Someone who was only his friend. He didn’t need the constant reminder of those bittersweet emotions.

‘Hey’, he continued at the Czech’s crestfallen expression. ‘Let’s look at the bracelets, yeah? I’ve actually been wanting to buy one of those.’

‘Okay!’

Well, that cheered him up.

Tommy realised too late that this was probably a mistake; encouraging Tomas to buy something. Still, he figured maybe a bracelet- something he had been meaning to buy himself- wasn’t as big of a deal between friends as a necklace, in terms of gift giving. The necklace would be right by his neck and chest, glimpsed in the mirror or shop window reflections; a bracelet would be seen every day, on his arm, something which he would grow used to, hopefully to the point he would no longer think about what it meant to him.

Perhaps that was a stupid thing to think, however, when all the time he spent around Tomas had done nothing to help him grow used to how he felt whenever he saw his teammate.

Regardless of his doubts, when he saw something he liked this time he pointed it out with little hesitation.

It was a simple leather strap with a wide curved silver piece in the centre. Both Tomas and the salesman- who had followed them over- beamed their approval with glistening eyes.

‘It is simple.’ Tomas stared at him. ‘You like simple?’

‘I guess so, yeah’, he laughed. ‘I mean, I guess I want a pretty straightforward life.’

‘I buy this then.’

Tommy bit his lip and didn’t protest this time.

The salesman looked at him pensively for a few long moments, before springing into life and chirping; ‘The reason that these seem pretty plain is that the metal disks- you see that there- are meant to be engraved. I can have that done now for you, if you like?’ He looked back and forth between them expectantly.

‘Yes! I’ll get two!’

Tommy peered at him curiously. ‘What are you getting? They’re not both for me?’

‘No, one is for me. And is secret, shh. You wait here.’

He did as he was told, once again resting his fingertips on the cool glass of the display case while he waited. Tomas followed the attendant out to the rear of the shop and disappeared behind a thick opaque curtain.

Luckily the engraving and payment were done fairly quickly, and Tomas was returned to him with an extra bag in tow, because just then Tommy heard the loudspeaker calling their gate.

‘Okay, we really have to go now’, he said as they made their way out of the shop, Tomas clutching his small square bag. They both had to pause momentarily to adjust to the now blinding fluorescent lights of the airport. Tommy gripped his friend’s arm, holding himself steady, as he blinked himself back to the real world.

Once he could see again Tomas gripped his hand, clutching at his fingers tightly. There was a strange expression on his face.

‘We really have to go, Herts. It’s ten minutes to the gate and they won’t wait for us.’

‘It will be one minute! Promise!’

‘What will?’, Tommy demanded, although his voice was softer and more exasperated than anxious now.

Tomas’ eyes darted about and he licked his lips, then pulled Tommy round a corner into a small gap in between shopfronts where the wall jutted inwards slightly.

Momentarily Tommy resented being pressed up next to a trash can but Tomas was right there and he suddenly couldn’t speak other than to stare into that earnest round face and stutter nonsensical words.

Tomas looked at him with the same gleeful expression he got after scoring a goal. ‘So a little while ago you said you loved me too.’

‘Yeah, two days ago’, Tommy laughed softly, finding his voice again. He couldn’t keep his eyes away from Tomas’.

‘Shhhh’, Tomas once more giggled his usual giggle. ‘I didn’t get to say it back so I’m saying it now: Tommy I love you and I want to be by your side like we are now forever.’

‘Wow.’ Tommy stared back at him, and Tomas giggled again. Tommy realised his body was trembling; could feel it as he pressed in closer.

‘I really want to kiss you’, Tomas said, looking down shyly yet with little hesitation, and giggled a third time.

His head spun and he swallowed to try to bring some moisture to his dry throat. Had he missed other indications that his crush on Tomas might not be unrequited? Was that why Tomas had been doing all of this for him today?

‘I… I want to kiss you, too’, Tommy said.

‘You do?’

‘Yeah.’

Tomas hid his mouth behind one hand to stifle the giggles this time.

‘Awesome, right?’, Tommy said, and did a fist pump.

Immediately he realised what he had just done. Before Tomas could make fun of him for it, Tommy kissed his best friend, not wanting to wait any longer.

Only he did it as Tomas still had his mouth slightly open and his head back, giggling, and Tommy launched himself forwards with all the force of a mongoose going in for the kill, so in actuality he ended up half-kissing Tomas’ teeth and then bumping Tomas’ nose as he moved away. It was a pretty horrible first kiss.

If the second one didn’t make up for it, the third sure did.

It took Tommy a moment for his Tomas-addled brain to remember something he was meant to ask. When he did he drew away and stepped back.

‘Wait, so what did you get done at the jewellery store?’

Tomas didn’t question why Tommy was thinking about that. He merely chirruped; ‘Oh! I forgot! I got those bracelets for us! They match!’

He fished about in the bag and drew out one of the boxes. It wasn’t gift wrapped; merely a plain black box whose lid slid off with little fanfare.

Nestled inside was the same bracelet as had been in the shop; only engraved on the small metal plate was ‘T ∞ T’.

‘Oh, I love them! Together forever.’

‘Yes, yes, together forever!’, Tomas nodded enthusiastically and Tommy’s eyes crinkled as he watched him. ‘We go together!’

‘Let’s do it.’ He leaned in and kissed Tomas softly, then grabbed the bracelet and closed it on Tomas’ wrist as the Czech giggled at him.

Tomas reached for the other one and Tommy let him put it on. The same large, clumsy fingers fumbled with the clasp, the same concentrated look stretched across his features.

When it was on tightly, certified by a few experimental shakes of the wrist, they tangled their fingers together and walked back as quickly as possible, making it just as the final call for the gate rang out.

Only Burns had remained in the terminal, lounging on the biting metal seats with his legs crossed. He wolf-whistled as they drew closer.

‘Thanks for waiting’, Tommy called.

The heavily-tattooed defenseman simply rolled his eyes. ‘Can’t fucking believe you two. They wanted to fly without you. I told them we had a game tomorrow and they’d better fucking keep calling for you.’

They followed him down a cool stairwell and then across the tarmac up on to the plane. He was sure half of their teammates glared at them while they began to stuff their bags into the overhead compartments.

As Tommy lifted his bag, he remembered something else, and paused.

Leaning into Tomas’ shoulder, he whispered; I actually got you something, too.’

‘You did?’

Tommy pulled the fluffy stuffed animal from his duffel bag, and listened to Tomas’ cries of glee- met with various teammates’ complaints- as he stowed away his luggage.

Even when they were in their seats- next to each other; always next to each other- Tomas continued to clutch the teddy to his chest.

Tomas rested his head on Tommy’s shoulder, hugging the stuffed animal and rubbing his thumb over their bracelets and the engravings there alternately. Tommy watched him do it.

After a few seconds, however, Tomas let go of his hand. Tommy threw him a puzzled look.

‘Here, he explained, pulling his cellphone from his pocket. ‘Take picture, I put online.’

Tommy laughed as he did so.

It was a sweet image. One that he was sure he would savour forever.

Forever.

He liked the sound of that.

*

Harsh neon lights beat down upon Tommy’s dry, tired eyes. He wasn’t quite sure what had possessed him to break off from the rest of the team, waiting for their flight back to Chicago. They had seemed in good spirits, a few of the younger guys talking and shoving each other boisterously. For some reason he just wasn’t feeling it today.

He couldn’t blame them, however, he thought as he moved around a family wandering in the direction of the airport terminals. Everyone had been a little restless lately, with the biting cold encircling the North right now and daring them to set foot outside only when necessary. The nearly two-hour delay was pretty long, too. He couldn’t remember the light time his flight had been delayed.

Oh.

He bit his lip and looked down at his wrist. The bracelet that had remained there ever since that day. Even after he was traded.

Yes, he remembered.

He looked at the infinity sign, rubbed one thumb over it, and smiled sadly to himself, only to be jolted to life at the sudden call for a gate; not his one, but it reminded him that he shouldn’t stand around in the middle of a crowded area like that. People had places to go and things to do. Thinking too much about the past would do no good.

He began to move his feet, watching the crowds bustling by, yet still kept a grip on his wrist, on the promise of forever.

*

Thankfully, his flight was on time, even a little early, that summer. The cold had taken longer than expected to thaw, however once it did it gave way to glorious heat.

Tommy rushed through the airport, moving as fast as possible and ignoring the slight sweat that glued his shirt and shorts to his body. He swiftly manoeuvred his bags off the carousel, grabbed a trolley for them, and careered out to arrivals.

There, among those dotted around with placards bearing the names of those who had travelled from all across the globe, was the face he longed to see. Tired and glistening with sweat yet lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning when he caught sight of the arrival.

As he neared, Tommy realised that there was a cuddle toy waiting to be thrust into his arms, but before he could get a good look to check if it was the same one his face was smushed against a shoulder in a tight hug.

Once he was released, Tommy grabbed Tomas’ hand and bumped their bracelets together, twisting their wrists to do so. He heard Tomas giggle and looked back up, fully aware of the dorky smile on his face and having no intentions of changing it.

‘Forever!’

‘Forever’, Tommy agreed, and they turned together to go home.


End file.
